Hall closed to McGwire as Ripken and Gwynn gain entry

While the door to Cooperstown swung open for Cal Ripken Jr. and
Tony Gwynn on Tuesday, McGwire was denied baseball's highest honor,
picked by less than a quarter of voters.

After hitting 583 home runs to rank seventh on the career list,
McGwire appeared on 128 of a record 545 ballots in voting by the
Baseball Writers' Association of America. The result that raises
doubts about whether Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa or other sluggers from
baseball's Steroids Era will ever gain entry.

"I hope that as time goes on, that number will increase,"
Gwynn said. "I hope that one day he will get into the Hall of
Fame, because I really believe he deserves it."

The 23.5 percent vote McGwire received represented the first
referendum on how history will judge an age when bulked-up stars
came under suspicion of using performance-enhancing drugs. Baseball
didn't ban steroids until after the 2002 season.

Gwynn, with an infectious laugh and smile, and Ripken, with cool
professionalism, were different on and off the field. They both
said they knew McGwire would take some attention from their
elections, but while Gwynn was open with his opinion on Big Mac,
Ripken was guarded. Ripken said Goose Gossage and Jim Rice belong
in the Hall, but stayed away from whether McGwire should gain the
honor.

"I don't think it's my place to actually cast judgment,"
Ripken said.

He also rejected Gwynn's assertion that steroid use was common
knowledge.

"I didn't know," Ripken said. "Looking back, maybe I can be
the most naive and most ignorant person around."

As the announcement approached, fans, players and managers
voiced their views. Many voters said McGwire was hurt by his 2005
congressional testimony, when he repeatedly evaded questions.

Jim Milner, McGwire's business representative, did not return
telephone calls. McGwire, who lives in a gated community in Irvine,
Calif., has made few public comments in recent years.

"I have enormous affection for both individuals," he said.
"They not only obviously had historic achievements on the field,
but they represented the sport as well as it could be
represented."

Ripken and Gwynn were rarities in the age of free agency, each
spending his entire career with one team. They will be inducted
during ceremonies July 29 at the Hall along with anyone elected
from the Veterans Committee vote, which will be announced Feb. 27.

Ripken, the Baltimore Orioles shortstop who set baseball's
ironman record, was picked by 537 voters and appeared on 98.53
percent of ballots to finish with the third-highest percentage
behind Tom Seaver (98.84) and Nolan Ryan (98.79).

Gwynn, who won eight batting titles with the San Diego Padres,
received 532 votes for 97.61 percent, the seventh-highest ever,
also trailing Ty Cobb, George Brett and Hank Aaron.

A 19-time All-Star and two-time AL MVP, Ripken played in a major
league-record 2,632 consecutive games to break Lou Gehrig's mark of
2,130. He also set a new standard for power-hitting shortstops with
431 home runs and 3,184 hits.

Gwynn, a 15-time All-Star, compiled 3,141 hits and a .338
batting average during his 20-year career with the San Diego
Padres. He woke up at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, couldn't get back to sleep
and was fidgety and nervous before he received the call from Jack
O'Connell, the BBWAA secretary-treasurer.

"I broke down right away," Gwynn said. "My wife came over and
put an arm around me."

Gwynn hit only 135 homers -- matching McGwire's total in 1998 and
1999 -- and joked that he'd be the "Punch and Judy" spokesman for
the next few months.

"For me, it's kind of validation because the type of player
that I was doesn't get a whole lot of credit in today's game," he
said. "I didn't win any championships. I didn't hit a whole lot of
home runs. I didn't drive in a whole lot of people."

Gossage finished third with 388 votes, falling 21 shy of the
necessary 409. His percentage increased from 64.6 to 71.2, putting
him in good position to reach the necessary 75 percent next year.
The highest percentage for a player who wasn't elected in a later
year was 63.4 by Gil Hodges in 1983, his final time on the ballot.

"It kind of feels weird to be that close," Gossage said.
"Hopefully, next year will be the year."

Rice was fourth with 346, his percentage dropping to 63.5 from
64.8 last year. He was followed by Andre Dawson (309), Bert
Blyleven (260), Lee Smith (217) and Jack Morris (202).

McGwire was ninth, followed by Tommy John (125) and Steve Garvey
(115), who was in his final year of eligibility. Jose Canseco, who
accused McGwire of using steroids, received six votes in his first
appearance and will be dropped from future ballots.

Pete Rose, the banned career hits leader who has never appeared
on the ballot, received four write-in votes.